by Brian Phelps
One of the hottest topics in the NFL right now is the raging debate over whether controversial Denver Broncos QB Tim Tebow is a bust. Is Tim Tebow a bust? Well, I'm a firm believer that Tim Tebow is NOT a bust, and I'm going to reveal to you why.
First off, there is no way you can call a guy who went 7-4 in the regular season, won the division title, had a playoff win against the defending AFC Champions, and had a total of 6 game winning drives in the 4th quarter or overtime a bust. That is mind boggling to me how anyone can call that man a bust.
Second, most people who call Tim Tebow a bust will always throw his 45% completion percentage in your face. To be honest, the completion percentage is not an accurate barometer for Tim Tebow's talent and let me tell you why. Tim Tebow threw 14 touchdowns, rushed for 7 touchdowns, and had over 600 yards rushing with only 6 interceptions and he only started 13 games (11 reg. season, 2 playoff)! A QB with a 45% completion percentage should have thrown far more than 6 interceptions. That means he accounted for 21 Touchdowns and only 6 interceptions in just 13 games, and had over 600 yards rushing. Those are not bust numbers. Outside of completion percentage, those are great numbers.
Third, anyone who says Tim Tebow's wins were because of the Denver Broncos Defense is a joke to me. The Denver Broncos defense is totally over rated. The Broncos defense is not the reason the Broncos were winning. The Denver Broncos defense are PRETENDERS and I'll tell you why. According to ESPN, the last 18 games BEFORE Tim Tebow took over as quarterback the Denver Broncos had 4 wins and 14 losses, the worst of any team in the NFL during that span. That means the Denver Broncos defense lost 78% of the time. That means Kyle Orton had a 78% losing percentage for all those who say he's a much better quarterback. The Broncos defense in the 18 games before Tebow took over only won 22% of the time. In the 13 games Tim Tebow started the Denver Broncos "magically" (sarcasm) jumped to a 61% winning percentage versus a 22% winning percentage in the 18 games before he took over. Another reason the Denver Broncos defense are pretenders is that ANY time they played a high powered offense this season they got BLOWN OUT. They got blown out by 5,000 yard passer Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions 45-10. They got blown out by 5,000 yard passer Tom Brady and New England TWICE. They can't stop the elite QB's. The Denver Broncos offense is not a high powered offense. They weren't a high powered offense under Kyle Orton, and they aren't under Tim Tebow. It's not their style. They are better suited to low scoring slug fests against other teams of the same mind set like Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Oakland etc. They're a 14-21 point a game team. They're not a 30-40 point team like New England, New Orleans, Detroit, or Green Bay. It's just who they are so if the defense lets the game get away early then the Broncos don't have a chance because a shoot out is not a game they're going to win.
As far as Tim Tebow's Division Title he won this year goes, I already know that many will try to say "Yeah, but he backed into it with a 3 game losing streak to end the season". For those that say he backed into it, I must remind you that had Kyle Orton not lost 4 out of the first 5 games of the season Tebow would have never had to "back into it" in the first place. Why is it that Tim Tebow goes on a 3 game skid and he's called a "bust", but Phillip Rivers goes on a 6 game skid after starting 4-1 and no one pans him to the degree that Tebow was panned for "backing" into the playoffs. Ryan Fitzpatrick started off the year 5-2 and went on a 7 game skid and didn't get criticized the way Tebow did. Tim Tebow actually MADE the playoffs and he was criticized more than them.
Also, those that that say he lost 4 out of the last 5 games this season need to remember that the Broncos were going to lose in the playoffs. The mere fact that they knocked Big Ben and the defending AFC Champion Steelers out of the playoffs in the first round immediately made the Denver Broncos season a success. They were never expected to win the Super Bowl. The Denver Broncos simply were not equipped to go deep in the playoffs. They weren't expected to win the first playoff game, but they beat the odds and did. If you examine the Denver Broncos team they are BADLY outgunned by nearly EVERY team in the playoffs. The Denver Broncos are Tim Tebow or bust. Look at the other playoff teams. The Patriots have Tom Brady, Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker, Chad Ochocinco, and Gronkowski. The Ravens have Ray Rice and Anquan Boldin. The Steelers had Big Ben, Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, and Rashard Mendenhall. The Detroit Lions have Matthew Stafford and Calvin "Megatron" Johnson. You get the point? What do the Broncos have besides Tebow? A rebuilt Willis McGahee? An ancient Champ Bailey in his 13th season who didn't even break 40 tackles? Eric Decker???? Really!? The facts are the Denver Broncos are a below average team and you would have to be blind not to see that. Defensively, they have a poor secondary which is why they get blown out by high powered offenses and their defensive line can't get get to the quarterback with the exception of Elvis Dumervil. They got a great linebacker in Von Miller, and the other linebackers are fairly good and that's the only real saving grace of the defense.
Anyone that says Tim Tebow had Willis McGahee you have to look at it for what it is. Yes, Willis McGahee had nearly 1,200 yards rushing, but there's some alarming numbers that go along with this. Willis McGahee could get you to the red zone, but he couldn't score touchdowns in the red zone. For a guy that had nearly 1,200 yards rushing, he only had 4 measly rushing touchdowns. Tim Tebow had 6 rushing touchdowns in the regular season (7 incl. playoffs) on only 600 yard rushing. In other words, Tebow ran for half the yards that McGahee did and came out with 2 more touchdowns than McGahee. Willis McGahee may have rushed for over 1,000 yards, but he posted career lows in rushing touchdowns (4) while matching career highs in fumbles (4) and fumbles lost (3). Put it this way, Willis McGahee had as many fumbles this season as he did rushing touchdowns (4 of each). Also, I say that Willis McGahee is a recycled running back because before this season he hadn't been a regular starter since 2007! He also hadn't had a 1,000 yard season since 2007. Another alarming stat is that from 2008-2010 with the Ravens he only started 11 games out of 44, but he had 24 rushing touchdowns during that time! This season with the Broncos he started 14 games and played in 15, but only had 4 rushing touchdowns. So yeah, he'll get you some yards, but he won't get you many touchdowns. He had as many turnovers as he did rushing touchdowns. So once again, it's Tebow or bust. Tebow doesn't have any prolific receivers, and he doesn't get any help putting points on the board from Willis McGahee.
Let's look at his receiving unit. Let's call it in spades. The Denver Broncos receiving unit stinks. Does anyone even know who their Tight End is? Then there's Eric Decker. NO ONE had even heard of Eric Decker before Tim Tebow became the starting quarterback. Eric Decker wasn't even a starting receiver last year. The fact is that if you put Eric Decker (Tebow's supposed number 1 target) on any of the playoff teams, he probably wouldn't even start. He wouldn't even play on the New England Patriots. He might be a number 3 or 4 receiver on most other teams. That's no offense to Eric Decker, he's just not that level of receiver. No one knew who Demaryius Thomas was either before the Pittsburgh Steelers playoff game. He's started 7 games in his first two seasons combined. He had one great play that will forever be remembered in Denver. The fact is that Tebow's top two targets Thomas and Decker combined have only started 20 games in the last two seasons. Eric Decker didn't start a game last season, and had 6 catches all last year under Kyle Orton. These receivers that Tebow has are second rate receivers and they were second rate before Tebow took over.
Tim Tebow's offensive line sucks too. He only started 11 games, yet he got sacked 33 times. That's why he rushed for over 600 yards because his offensive line doesn't protect him. In the playoff game against the Patriots, he couldn't even drop back before getting blitzed and because the offensive line wouldn't protect him he got sacked 5 times.
In closing, Tim Tebow did a lot with a mediocre team. Despite his offensive line allowing him to be sacked 33 times during the regular season, and not getting any scoring help from running back Willis McGahee, he still turned around a 1-4 team and took them to the playoffs. I dare anyone to challenge this article successfully with FACTS. I'm not saying that Tim Tebow will ever be as good as Tom Brady, Phillip Rivers, or Drew Brees. All I'm saying in this post is that Tim Tebow is NOT a bust... end of story.
